Haus der Wolfe
by GoddessAstray
Summary: A year before Eren and his companions signed up for their training, there was a different set of stories to be told. Here they are heard. Following another band of newly realized soldiers as necessity brings them to the fight, there are many decisions to be made. Can they make the cut and serve humanity? Or will the reality of this cruel yet beautiful world bring them to ruin?
1. Chapter 1

_Hello lovelies! I just thought that I should put up a notification right here at the top that this story is being brought over from my old account. So, if you happen to be one of the darling people who read this when I first posted it, it will now be found here, on my new and improved one. My friend and I collaborated on this, since it started off as a script-form role play, and she has allowed me to transcribe it into story form and publish it, all for your enjoyment! I've taken to calling it a "collaborative work of fiction" in the meanwhile, but those are it's origins. Just two nerdlings putting their own creative twists on one of their most beloved series._

_This might also be considered a UA, "universe alteration", due to the presence of a few elements that did not show themselves in the actual series. However, these are just for the purpose of entertainment and personalization, and I completely understand if you don't agree with them being tossed in. The process of manufacturing mechanical limbs and attaching them surgically to an amputee, here dubbed "Biomechanical Synthesis" by myself, was inspired somewhat obviously by the Automail industry featured in the Fullmetal Alchemist series._

_Thank you for viewing, and feel free to leave a review on your way out, if it pleases you._

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

The instructor looked out over the new Trainees with a deep frown etched into her features.

"… So this is what they've sent to me... This is all I have to work with?" She passed by a young man who was smiling optimistically. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face, kid."

Some members of the crowd began to tremble.

She stopped in front of a girl who barely cleared five feet, having to look down to see her. She didn't look particularly strong either. Small, with strawberry blonde curls reaching her shoulder blades and eyes the color of moss in the winter. Petite.

"Name and age..?"

"Sara Klein, ma'am. Fifteen years of age, ma'am." Sara looked just as positive as the first boy she criticized, with the difference being that she looked pretty braced for impact. Instead of raining down a barrage of all the things she had to say just in regards to her stature and build, the woman gave a faint sigh and continued on through the ranks.

There were students she ignored completely as she moved along, and others that she mercilessly heckled over the way they were standing or their demeanor, before she returned to the front of the group, leaving a few kids shaking in their boots.

"I'm required to tell you, before we begin your training, that over half the people present won't last a year after graduation."

Murmurs of shock and fear ran through the group.

"The Titans are ruthless adversaries. They will take you down in a heartbeat in your current condition. My job is to try and ensure that as many of you as possible stay alive. For the next three years you will be trained to kill. Some of you might drop out. Or, tomorrow, if you fail the aptitude test, some of you will be withdrawn from this squad and sent back to the landfills like the under-qualified worms you are."

The woman pointed out a path of trampled down earth. "You see that track? Give me five times around."

Everyone took off down the ½ mile running track, a few already regretting their decisions to sign up. Sara frowned slightly at some of the boys who took off at full speed right from the get-go.

_They're going to exhaust their stamina in one lap…_

She caught up with the guys as they started slowing down and passed them by. However, by lap three she was already getting exhausted herself.

"Do you think we'll pass tomorrow, Ilsa?" a teen with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes asked his running partner.

"Yeah, we will." She just looked forward as they started their fourth time around.

The two finished fairly close to the head of the pack and headed for the bunkers to settle in.

"I'll see you later, Dieter."

"At dinner, then. Later." With few words they parted, Dieter heading for the boys' side of the camp and Ilsa heading to the girls' side.

Sara, however, was sitting on the ground, trying to catch her breath. Some boys passed by, breathing hard, looking down at her. She ducked her head faintly at the looks of disdain sent her way.

Forcing herself to her feet, she resolved to keep from looking too weak by pushing herself as much as she could. She passed a boy easily a foot taller than her and shook her head a bit to signal that she was alright. That he should worry about himself.

With her legs already starting to ache, Sara entered the sleeping quarters and flopped down on the nearest unoccupied bunk she could find, right under Ilsa's. A groan escaped her lips as she suddenly regretted everything.

"You're not the only one who's tired," another girl laughed breathlessly, taking the top bunk of the set next to Sara's and Ilsa's.

"I'm not… tired. I'm just lying down before dinner," Sara insisted. She then thought better of it and decided the girl looked a hell of a lot kinder than the boys from outside. "Okay, that was a lie. I'm exhausted, and it's nice to know I'm not alone."

"Half of those guys have already exhausted themselves as well, so we're not doing too badly, in comparison."

Sara rolled her eyes. "They were just trying to show off… You've gotta make a good impression on the first day, I guess."

"None of that was very 'impressive', if you ask me. What really impresses people is stamina. If you can run for extended periods of time? _That's_ something that can really pay off later on."

The two girls were a bit surprised to hear Ilsa speak for the first time.

"Yeah. It shows you won't get worn out, right? They'll just have to learn, or drop out. If you can't handle it, then you don't belong here."

The smallest girl rolled onto her side at these words from the girl in the bunk across from Ilsa. "Yeah… I just hope I do alright with the aptitude test tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The bell rang for dinner and Sara got to her feet. Taking notice of the girl in the lower bunk in the set next to hers and Ilsa's, she reached out to touch her shoulder lightly, thinking she was asleep. "Are you—"<p>

"I'm awake."

Sara pulled her hand back. "O-Oh. Sorry."

Everyone headed off to the Mess Hall to eat dinner. Sara and her two new companions stuck together, making small talk along the way.

"I'm Angela, by the way," the girl with curled blonde locks said. As she spoke, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail using a tie around her wrist. "Leitner."

"Sara Klein, but you guys probably heard Ms. Rockwell call me out earlier."

"Ilsa Hauer." The third girl introduced herself simply, without looking at the others.

Angela fished around in her head for another topic. "Where are you guys from? I came from Trost, so…"

"Stohess, here," Sara replied.

"Shiganshina."

Sara and Angela both looked at Ilsa in surprise, knowing Shiganshina was the first district infiltrated when the Colossal Titan broke through. Before they could raise any questions, though, she branched off away from them to join Dieter.

"We'll see each other later, right?" Angela paused on her way to claim a spot.

Sara smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we will, since we sleep in practically adjacent bunks." This made Angela laugh, and they too parted to receive their dinner and take their seats.

"How much has your brother been bugging you about the whole Scouting Legion thing?" she asked while taking her seat next to the tall boy from before.

The young man shrugged. "He still wants me to join him in the Military Police, but… hey. That's three years away. We still have to get through the aptitude test tomorrow—" He suddenly noticed the nervous expression on his friend's face and backpedaled a bit. "Not that we have anything to worry about. Either of us."

"Thanks…" Sara took a reluctant bite of her food.

"I know he just wants to keep me safe and crap, but… look at me. Six foot three and not doing too badly in the strength department, even if I do say so myself."

His companion laughed, watching him flex a little.

Meanwhile, Ilsa and Dieter sat quietly at a table by themselves, eyeing the other people in the room.

"How many of these guys do you think will quit?" Dieter asked, keeping his voice low.

"Maybe twenty. Thirty." Ilsa downed a swig of her drink. "You thinking about joining the Military Police?"

This brought on a sigh. Dieter knew all too well that Ilsa was really gunning for him to join the MPs. "Not really… I mean, why sit around in the Interior when you could be out there thinning out the Titans' numbers."

"The Military Police are the best of the best. And they're credited among the military ranks as the ones least at risk of ever having to face a Titan. Doesn't _that_ sound appealing, at least? You need to aim for that, alright?"

"If you go for it, then I will too. There's no way I'm getting separated from you. Either we both make an effort, or we don't."

Ilsa sent her cousin a sideways glance, a bit tired of arguing with him over the matter. He was just as stubborn as she was, and even more hard-headed. A long silence passed between them.

"I'll just have to do my best, then…"

* * *

><p>A different bell went off for the trainees to hit the hay. Sara got to her feet to put her plate in to be washed and went back to her bunk. As soon as she lay down, her eyelids started to feel heavy.<p>

Around thirty minutes after everyone settled in, Sara turned over on her side, hearing a quiet noise.

"Adele, where are you going?" Angela asked tiredly, looking to the open doorway where a girl stood, silhouetted by the light of the rising moon.

She was thin with shoulder-length dark brown hair, wearing a plain grey tank top that lay rather loose about her torso and a pair of military-issued white pants. Her feet were bare and fell upon the wood floors without making a sound, causing her to give off an air of intangibility.

Adele looked back over her shoulder at her bunk mates and her brown eyes caught the moonlight, quieting any protests against her actions with a single glance. She turned and headed outside, closing the door noiselessly behind herself.

"What is she doing?!" Angela hissed under her breath.

"If she's not careful? Getting herself in trouble, probably." Sara kept her voice low, careful not to wake anyone who was already asleep. "I don't know how strict they are about curfew here."

"Should we go after her..?" Angela's voice held a caring tone; one of friendly concern.

Sara lay back down and closed her eyes. "It's late. No point in us all getting in trouble for her choices. Besides. She might have her own reasons for sneaking around in the middle of the night." A long yawn cut her off and she nestled her head back into her pillow.

"I guess we should respect her privacy, then…" Angela, too, turned onto her side to try and go back to sleep, feeling like rest might be a good idea as preparation for their first full day as trainees of the 103rd Trainee Corps.

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><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, guys. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who viewed the first chapter, so here I am back with the second! It doesn't matter how many hits this gets, or reviews. I'm just happy to know that there are people out there willing to read it._

_It's definitely looking like I'm going to be updating this every Thursday, and I'll try to give a notice ahead of time if that's going to be changing. It's, uh... looking as though it's going to be pretty long. As it stands now, there are ninety-seven chapters and an epilogue. There are some things that will be removed since they no longer fit in the story and things that will be added to fill in time gaps, but other than that it's done._

_Except the part where I have to put the whole thing into story format._

_I've started up a deviantART account for this as well where I will be putting any related pictures. For the moment it lies empty, but I'll be putting up a poll asking what character bio you guys want to see next. I'll wait a week, and if there are no replies by next Thursday, then I'll probably just choose whoever._

_Thanks again if you've stuck around for chapter two, and happy reading!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**The Next Morning**

The next morning saw Adele back in her own bunk, still wide awake. She didn't even finch when the siren went off to awaken everyone else from their slumbers. Instead, she got up and headed out before everyone to avoid getting caught up in the crowd.

Sara sat up in her bunk, rubbing her eyes gently. "Well. What a nice wake up call."

"It got us up, didn't it?" Angela retorted, heading down the ladder. "Besides, who wants to miss breakfast with what _we've_ got in store today?"

Ever so _thankful _for the reminder of their impending evaluation, Sara mumbled something to herself and accompanied the others to the Mess Hall. Upon seeing Adele off in one corner of the room, sitting at an otherwise unoccupied table, she decided to try and make what she thought was a friendly gesture.

Giving Bjorn a little 'just a minute' motion with one hand, she made her way over to take a seat across from the solitary occupant of the corner club. Adele stopped all movement as this stranger sat down on the other side of the table, retaining her silence.

Sara ate some of her food, looking across the table at her ever stoic dining partner.

"Do you ever talk to anyone at—" She stopped as Adele fixed her with a gaze that took her breath away. After a few moments of being locked in place by the girl's stare, Sara shook herself slightly and got up to reclaim her usual place at Bjorn's side.

Adele left after finishing her meal, her departure monitored with vague intrigue by Sara and her friend. Once the siren went off for the end of their meal the other members of the camp followed suit, heading out to the examination site.

Sara felt her heartbeat picking up a bit as she and Bjorn headed for the area where they'd be trying out the 3D Maneuver Gear harnesses, their abilities recorded by their instructor. This was to be one of the major deciding factors between success and failure.

"As many of you know," Ms. Rockwell began, stepping up in front of the rows of trainees, "today you will participate in an aptitude test to set a base for your skills with the 3D Maneuver Gear, which you will be utilizing in future battles against the Titans. If you can't manage to keep your balance in the harness…"

_We're gone, _Ilsa finished in her head.

"Those in the first row, step forward."

Sara gave a quiet gulp, wishing she had decided to stand beside Bjorn instead of in front of him. A slight nudge from the young man earned him a scornful glance back over her shoulder as she reluctantly went up with Ilsa, Dieter and a few others.

It took a moment for her to figure out all the straps and buckles, hands shaking from a crippling fear of failure, but she managed.

"Raise them."

No sooner had Sara strapped herself in than she felt her feet leaving the ground. Her heart leapt into her throat and she immediately stretched her arms out to her sides in an attempt to keep her balance. While Ilsa and Dieter both took to it easily, Sara shook slightly with the effort of keeping herself upright.

_Didn't I tell you you'd be fine? _Angela sent her new friend a winning smile and a subtle thumbs-up as Ms. Rockwell ordered the first group to be lowered back down. Once the members of the first group were free of their harnesses, the instructor motioned the next wave of trainees forward to take their places.

Bjorn, stepping up to take Sara's place after she got herself out of the straps, smiled a bit. "See?"

Once the second group had been allowed to strap themselves in, Ms. Rockwell gave the order to hoist them up again.

"They're good," Dieter mused to himself as he watch Bjorn and Adele conquering the task with, apparently, little effort at all. His cousin gave a hum of affirmation as she quietly studied the way Adele was almost perfectly still in the air.

_And my brother wants me to join the Military Police and never get to use this stuff, _Bjorn thought, feeling right at home in that harness.

Ms. Rockwell frowned a bit at some of the shakier students that were taking a bit longer to balance than usual, but eventually let them all down.

Row after row of Trainees stepped up for the test, and by the end there were at least twenty who looked like they were ready to go home. After the last row was lowered to the ground and free of harnesses, everyone was sent to run more laps.

Bjorn nudged Sara's shoulder, laughing a little. "You did it."

"Just barely," his friend replied as she headed for the track. "I could have sworn I was going to tip." She was trying to be calm about the whole thing, but internally she was beaming with pride.

_One milestone down. I can do this._

* * *

><p>"You good?" Bjorn looked at Sara after crossing the finish line by her side. "You look like you're thinking about something." As soon as the words left his lips, he caught sight of the way some of their teammates were looking at her.<p>

Sara had to catch her breath for a moment. "I will get stronger… We have three years in this place… and then I'll be stronger and people won't have to worry about whether or not I belong here." She looked up from the ground, looking around at all the other, stronger Trainees. "I swear I will."

"Yeah. We'll get stronger together, alright?" Bjorn patted her back lightly, offering up a reassuring smile.

"Not that you need it," his friend laughed somewhat breathlessly.

Adele, hearing their conversation from her spot in the shade under a tree, watched Sara through the part in her hair as everyone started heading to the Mess Hall for lunch.

_You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into._

Adele went and got her meal as per usual, frowning slightly as the man behind the counter slapped down a bit more food than she'd eat. No matter.

Her frown deepened and she stopped as she turned around to find some guys hanging around her table in the corner, laughing and pushing one another around playfully. One in his early twenties caught her attention, dark brown hair and brown eyes.

_Oh._

The young man she'd been looking at laughed a bit as he spotted her, looking a bit torn. "Sorry we're at your table. We don't take up that much room, so you're free to join us." He patted the open spot next to himself, winking a bit.

Silent for a few seconds, Adele simply set her food down on the table and turned toward the door. The group at her table muttered to each other about how she was being weird.

"Hey, are you just gonna give us the brush off?" The apparent leader of the group smiled as Adele paused. "I don't bite."

"Does it really look like she's interested? And what makes you think this is a good place for flirting?" Ilsa spoke up after seeing the short exchange, the progress of her spoon from her bowl to her mouth halted.

The young man's smile faded as he looked to Ilsa. "I was just being friendly, so why don't you leave well enough alone and mind your own business?"

"You've never seen what we're up against, have you? You're one of those people who can still sleep soundly at night and laugh and be happy, and it kind of pisses me off that you're so ignorant of the danger we'll be facing eventually." Ilsa narrowed her eyes in faint disgust.

"So I'm not even supposed to be happy around you now, little Miss Rain Cloud? I—"

"Gero. Shut up, alright?" Bjorn stopped in the midst of raising his cup to his lips. He was really not up for this kind of trouble at the moment, and hoped the guy would finally get the message.

"It's okay. He'll be dead within a week of service."

Adele made her way to the door, quiet as usual. But there was a certain aura of unrest about her after dealing with Gero and his posse.

_That's the most I've heard her say in one sitting, _Dieter thought, returning to his meal with his now silent cousin.

"You know they're going to give you hell now, right?"

Ilsa lowered her spoon back into her bowl. "What I know is that I can handle myself against those idiots. Whatever 'hell' they could offer would be nothing in comparison to the news flash they've got in store if they don't get their acts together before facing some real monsters."

* * *

><p>After lunch, the group made their way to a classroom type environment, with desks spread evenly throughout the space. At the front of the room, there was a blackboard, and beside the board stood Ms. Rockwell, looking a bit less intimidating here than she did earlier. She could even pass for a scholar with her hair tied up in a neat ponytail and a pair of glasses resting gently on the bridge of her nose.<p>

As soon as everyone had been seated, their instructor launched right into discussing a diagram of the 3D Maneuver Gear, how it worked, how to make repairs, and how to change the gas canisters. They would be covering all that for the next several weeks until they could name every trigger, gear and spring without a second thought.

That's when they'd be able to handle the actual gear and start practicing each element until perfected.

Bjorn found the mechanics of it all fascinating, but was a bit disappointed to know that they'd require a lot of training before their bodies were ready for the strain that would be put on their muscles.

_I've waited this long. I can wait a few more years…_

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey there! Sorry it's a little bit later than usual. I usually try to aim for some time around noon or one o'clock EST for uploads, but I had to write the ending part from scratch today, as it was something that wasn't originally in the role play. But here it is._

_Also, thought I'd let you guys know that on Sunday, February first, I'll be uploading like twenty questions on the Tumblr blog that you can "ask" any of the characters. I was also thinking about doing a weekly "ask meme" sort of thing, where every Sunday a new set of questions or themed questions would be posted there. I have a list of 310 questions already answered for everyone and ready to go! Great development tool, by the way._

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

Dinner seemed to roll around very quickly to some, while to others it felt like they spent an eternity learning about how to change the gas canisters on the Maneuver Gear.

Adele, for one, was more focused on the fact that Gero and his posse were still sitting at her usual table when they headed into the Mess Hall that evening. She quickly resigned herself to sitting way at the far end of Bjorn and Sara's table.

"Would it really be so difficult for them to move..?" Dieter frowned at the small group on the other side of the room, watching them laughing and joking around again.

"Gero probably wants to be Mr. Right in this situation, if his actions earlier could be any indication of his personality," Ilsa replied. She noticed the main topic of their conversation glancing over at Adele every now and again, and wasn't very surprised when, after a few more moments, Gero got up and headed over to sit across from Adele.

Adele stopped eating as soon as Gero set his food down.

"Hey," he started off, smiling somewhat apologetically. "I wanted to start off by properly introducing myself, since all you really know is that my friends and I kind of invaded your corner space over there. But I mean, look. You're actually sitting at a table with other people now!"

He didn't seem to notice just how uncomfortable his dining partner looked in his presence, or if he did, he was ignoring the fact quite effectively.

"Name's Gero. Adele, right?" He started eating his own food as he spoke. "Yeah, I think I saw you when we were signing up back in Trost."

Adele wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. She was just watching him eat. The way he tore his small loaf of bread in half before taking a bite. The way his front teeth ripped into it and the crust made a crunching sound. The way his throat looked when he swallowed.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she whispered, pushing her lunch tray toward him as she got to her feet.

"Wait, what?" Gero also stood and went after her. "Where are you going-?" He grabbed her by her wrist, a gesture that was innocent enough in appearance, but it caused Adele's eyes to widen as though a jolt of electricity had just hit her.

Within three seconds of Gero touching her wrist, she had him pinned under her on the floor.

"What… would ever possess you to touch me..? Do you really feel so entitled to my company that you thought you could stop me from going..?" Her hair obscured her eyes from view like usual as she held Gero's wrists down with her hands.

Gero's eyes were wide with shock at just how easily she took him down. "I was just—"

"God, you're so stupid… If someone's showing obvious signs that they're not interested in spending any time around you, you might want to re-examine what sort of person you are. And another thing." She got to her feet, releasing him without meeting his gaze. "You and your friends can have the table for all I care. Just stay away from me. I'd rather not associate myself too much with someone who's bound to become Titan chow."

"Adele," Ilsa chided lightly, hoping to speak up before things really got out of hand. "Not everyone here knows what Titans are really capable of. You can't be too hard on him for being so lucky, can you?"

Adele gave a quiet, "Tch," and headed for the door.

"You hate everyone here," Gero called after her, "so why don't you just leave?! Why the hell did you sign up for this?!"

Adele simply threw him a murderous glance back over her shoulder before she left, trying to ignore how all eyes in the room were turned on her.

Ilsa frowned at Gero from her seat.

"Better question: Why the hell did you?"

* * *

><p>Adele, already back in her bunk with her jacket bundled up under her head, closed her eyes and began to calm down.<p>

"You alright, Adele?" Ilsa paused in the doorway, not sure whether the solitary girl would prefer to be alone or enjoy some company.

"I'm alright."

A bit more relaxed after hearing that, Ilsa entered the building the rest of the way and climbed up to her own bunk. "I wonder why some even bother joining. Half the people here are shooting for the Military Police, even knowing there are only ten spots. I only want Dieter to join the MPs for him to be safe."

"I don't exactly have that option," Adele said quietly.

Interested by this statement, Ilsa asked, "Are you planning on joining the Scouts to fight Titans too?"

The other girl tensed up slightly at the mention of the word 'Titans'. "I never want to see another one of those demons ever again." It was silent in the room for a moment before she sighed. "I… have a debt to be repaid."

"Were you rescued by a soldier?" Ilsa recalled her own rescue by a member of the Scouts, during the breach the previous year.

"Yeah." She trembled at the memory of that day, turning on her side to try and go to sleep. "I _will _join the Scouting Legion and see her again… I never even got to thank her."

"At least you _can _thank her, right?"

Adele paused. "Thanks, for before. I didn't mean to draw that much attention to myself. And I'm sorry, for your loss… Not everyone can understand the pain that comes with being face to face with one of those monsters."

"Dieter's the only family I've got left."

"Try and get some sleep," Adele suggested. "Even if it's filled with nightmares, it's better than nothing." The others started to return from dinner, their arrival bringing quiet chatter, and an end to the conversation between the two young women.

As Sara returned to the bunks, she looked from Adele's bunk to the bottom of Ilsa's bunk above her. "Night you guys." She looked once more to Adele, barely hearing Ilsa's returning, "Goodnight," recalling just how easy it was for the girl to knock Gero to the ground with a single hit.

_I wonder where she learned that..?_

She silently thought about whether or not she might be able to get her teammate to teach her to fight, but then determined that if things continued to go on the way they were, she'd never be close enough to her to ask for such a big favor. Even after three years together.

_If I make it that far…_

Putting her self-conscious thoughts to rest, Sara rolled onto her back and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Hey… Bjorn?"<p>

Bjorn looked up from re-lacing his boots to see Sara wringing the bottom part of her shirt in her hands nervously. It was just after lunch on their fifth day, and they'd finally been given some free time outside of their meals.

Most of the Trainees were sitting around socializing. A select few, like Bjorn, were exercising. Or he had been, up until a few moments ago, when he'd realized that his boots had been improperly laced.

"What's up?"

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" His friend wouldn't meet his eyes, so he felt a twinge of concern in the pit of his stomach.

"Of course I wouldn't mind." Bjorn finished with his left boot and stood up. "Is everything alright?"

"I just need you to cut my hair."

"Your hair?" Bjorn was slightly taken aback by the request. She had it tied back, which was unusual. She almost always kept it loose. Then again, many of the female Trainees had their hair tied back. It would be a hazard otherwise.

But he didn't think that was what Sara was worried about. From where they were standing, he could see a couple guys and a girl talking and glancing their way every now and again. He looked down to see Sara fidgeting still.

"Just let me go get a pair of scissors."

* * *

><p>Sara felt like she was going to be sick as she sat down in the chair Bjorn had brought out for her. They were right outside the girls' bunks and she felt like everyone was staring at her. She calmed down considerably when Bjorn came to stand in front of her, effectively blocking her view of almost everyone else.<p>

"How short are we talking here?" he asked, snapping the metal scissors open and shut.

The girl moved her left hand to around jaw level, not entirely sure herself. "Here?"

Bjorn chuckled. "That sounded a lot like a question." He moved around behind her and gathered her hair in one hand aside from one medium-sized strand. "Like this?" He held the strand between his pointer and middle fingers of his free hand, around the length Sara had specified.

"Yeah," she said, sounding a bit surer of herself. "Thanks…"

"Any time."

_Snip._

Bjorn started cutting through her strawberry-blonde locks. There wasn't any going back now, so Sara felt a bit of weight lift from her shoulders.

_Snap snap._

She watched some of her severed hair drift down to the ground, determined to show those bastards what she was really made of. _I'm no princess. I'm a soldier._

_Clack._

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Three Years Later**

Bjorn cut deep into the padding on back of the cutout's neck. His blade sliced right through it like a knife through butter. These weapons were made to cut through a Titan's flesh almost as easily, so these fakes were nothing in comparison.

Dieter slashed into the neck of another nearby, followed closely by Ilsa, who made a slightly deeper cut. They came out of nowhere and the sight made a bit of competitiveness bubble up in the pit of Bjorn's stomach.

"Heeeey!" Sara pleaded as Bjorn caught up to her. "Leave some for the rest of us!"

"Yeah, come on you guys!" Angela said, swinging up to the two.

Sara went off in a different direction in search of an enemy that hadn't already been 'slain.' It was a large area, but there were more than a few people going around. She found one and cut into the back of its neck, but her blades didn't go quite deep enough.

"Damn," she whispered, swinging back around to finish the job.

Then off she flew, intent on getting in as many kills as she could within the time limit. She yelped a little as she emerged from a patch of trees and narrowly avoided smacking right into another Titan cutout.

"This is great!" Dieter yelled somewhere to her left. He swooped in and cut deep into the target area.

Soon the bell sounded for the end of the test, signaling that it was time for all the Trainees to return to their bunks to await their scores.

Ilsa stretched her arms. "I feel like that went well."

Adele landed and started walking back, sheathing her blades once more. "I wish you and your cousin luck. You deserve it."

"Thank you."

Ilsa and Adele had formed a sort of camaraderie over their time spent in training. Adele wasn't exactly friends with anyone, but she and Ilsa at least had an understanding.

* * *

><p>Sara bit the tip of her thumb gently. "Bjorn did good… I'm sure he did…"<p>

Ilsa made an inquisitive noise as she looked over the edge of her bunk, thinking the young woman might be addressing her. "Hm?"

"Nothing," Sara muttered dismissively. "I'm just… worried about his placement. Don't mind me."

"I get the same way with Dieter."

"He was doing great when I saw him," Sara encouraged with a small smile. "He's a natural."

"I just hope he gets the Military Police..."

The smaller of the two put her arms up behind her head, lying on her back in her own bunk. "He'll do fine... They both will. They've come too far to fail now."

After a while, another bell rang for all the Trainees to gather in the Mess Hall for lunch, and to see their scores.

Ilsa got to her feet, a bit nervous. She just hoped Dieter was in the top ten, because everyone knew the MPs never faced Titans, since they were stationed so far in.

Sara tried to walk along calmly, even though she was worried about Bjorn. And also a bit for herself. She knew she hadn't placed in the top ten, but she was hoping for an alright score to prove that she could handle herself, and that everyone who told her she should go home… She wanted to prove them wrong.

As soon as she entered the Mess Hall, Sara made eye contact with Bjorn. She looked at him somewhat hopefully, still slightly concerned with her friend's ranking.

Bjorn gave her a thumbs-up sign, although he didn't exactly look happy with the success.

Sara checked her score, lightly drawing her finger down the board until she found her last name.

"Twenty-ninth… In a class this size, I guess that's not too bad." She had been expecting something far worse, in fact, due to the number of shallow hits she'd made. Twenty-nine was a number she could live with.

Sara went over to join her friend with a slight smile.

"Sixth, huh? I knew I shouldn't have been worried…" She fell silent, having seen Dieter's score. She knew how badly Ilsa had wanted him to make it in.

"Seventeenth," Ilsa said under her breath.

"It's not the Military Police, but still!" Dieter put an arm around Ilsa's shoulders, pointing out his own number. "Twenty. I'm with you, alright?"

"He deserves that spot, Sara..." Bjorn clenched his jaw a bit. "And I might not even take the position… How the hell is that fair?"

"You're planning on joining the Scouting Legion, aren't you..?"

"Yes... I know Beat won't be happy with me, but... I'm not cut out for that lifestyle."

Sara sat down with Bjorn, suddenly noticing that since arriving there, they've really all stuck to the same tables.

"Do you…" Bjorn picked at his food a bit. "Do _you_ think I should join the Military Police..? I don't mean that I'm going to, but… just as your matter of opinion."

"I… I think you should do whatever makes you happy… I was thinking about whether I should join the Scouting Legion or the Stationary Guard."

Her friend looked up from his food, a little surprised. "But… you've wanted to be in the Scouting Legion from the start, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but… Never mind." She smiled a bit. "Just worry about your own things for once, alright?"

Across the room at their usual table, Dieter and Ilsa were just sitting down to eat.

"Well, we did the best we could," Ilsa mumbled around a mouthful of bread.

Dieter nodded rather enthusiastically. "After today, we get to choose where we want to go. We're going to the Scouting Legion, right?"

His cousin nodded. "It's going to be different this time, Dieter." She tightened her grip on her fork. "This time, we'll have proper training, and… It won't end the way it did in Shiganshina. We're not prey anymore…"

Dieter paused, seeing that fierce light in his cousin's eyes. At one point, he'd thought he'd seen the last of it. Back when they were running for their lives after the breach, chunks of the wall raining down around them. But there it was again, shining bright: the will to fight back.

"Right…"

* * *

><p>Adele finished her meal, having reclaimed her table after the incident with Gero three years prior and headed back to the bunks. Ilsa was soon to follow, receiving a short farewell from her cousin upon her departure.<p>

Back in the girls' bunks, Adele heard the approaching footsteps and gently slipped a picture back under the mattress of her bunk.

"Hey, Adele. How did you end up doing?" Ilsa took off her jacket as she walked in through the front entrance. Adele was smoothing out her blanket.

"I placed eleventh."

"Wow… That's really good. Just short of the top ten," Ilsa commented as Adele finished straightening the covers.

"I didn't want to place in the top ten."

"There's nothing that says the top ten _have _to join the Military Police." Ilsa glanced over at the other girl, then back at her hands. "I kind of understand it, though. Why bother taking up a spot in the top ten if you're not going to use it? Is that it?"

Adele fiddled around with one corner of her pillow. "Took the words right out of my mouth." There was a moment of pause. "Gero and his friends will get to live in the capital. Probably what they wanted all along."

"Well, there are those who truly deserve those positions, and those who probably just want to live it up in the Capital."

"To each their own," Adele sighed. "It just means they'll be out of our hair. There's not much use for them in the Scouts anyhow. Thinking about the reward before they've committed themselves to the required performance level. You and your cousin are planning on ending up in the Scouts, right..?"

Ilsa took a seat on the edge of Sara's bunk for the moment. "Yeah… He isn't upset that we didn't make the MPs. He's just happy we'll be sticking together."

"That's what families do in times of hardship, don't they? Stick together? And aren't you all he's got left?" Adele watched Ilsa nod silently as she, too, sat down. "He can watch out for you this way. You've both got someone to watch your backs."

A bell chimed for lunch to be over. "Either way. I'll see you there."

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Sara stood in the crowd of new graduates, looking up at the darkening sky. Bjorn was by her side, and she felt the overwhelming urge to reach out and take his hand.

Several torches blazed at the edges of the open area, bathing the newly graduated Trainees in a yellow-orange light. A gentle breeze made the flames dim every now and then, but none of them went out.

"Do you think we're ready?" Dieter asked. He was looking skyward as well from his spot at the end of one row.

Standing to his right, Ilsa replied, "Of course. I mean, we graduated in the top twenty. We did fine."

A woman with short brown hair looked down at the group assembled before the stage, a serious expression on her face. She hated that she had to be there, but whoever joined the Scouts that year would be put under the care of her and her partner.

_Maybe this year won't be a complete and utter fuck up._

She spotted some of the people in the front row staring at her as she watched from the sidelines. Not that she could blame them. She was over six feet tall and pretty pissed off at the moment.

"Augustine," a brunette man at her side muttered, elbowing her in the side. "If you keep looking at them like that, you're going to scare everyone off faster than a Titan would."

Augustine only scowled deeper.

"Maybe I wouldn't look so damn miserable if you hadn't taken my drink…"

The crowd below fell silent as Erwin Smith stepped forward to address them.

"Good evening. I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Scouting Legion. After your hard work in training, it's high time you chose where you want to focus those efforts from here on out.

"Let's get down to business. The Scouts need you. We need every single person who's ready and willing to defend humanity. Every single person with the will to fight back.

"I'm sure that by now you've all heard the creed of our military. Know what it stands for. Those of us in the Scouting Legion are seen as the hope of mankind. We're known as the ones who have the gall to venture outside. To face the Titans head on."

Looking down at the crowd, he was easily able to pick out several Trainees who'd already written the Scouting Legion off in favor of the Military Police or the Garrison.

"We're here to make sure that humanity doesn't lose this fight completely."

Angela was engrossed in the man's speech, feeling that every word that left his mouth described perfectly what she'd been looking forward to about the Scouting Legion.

"To offer up your beating hearts for the good of humanity. That's what our forces stand for. Those who are willing to devote their lives to protecting others. Those people have what we're looking for.

"Humans have always had fear in their hearts, somewhere. You don't have to be void of fear to be strong. What matters is whether or not you can overcome that fear. Those who don't have the will to stand up to their nightmares can never hope to dream."

Erwin Smith held his hands behind his back, standing up straight, composed and dignified.

"Those of you who wish to pursue another path are, presently, dismissed."

Sara stared up at the man in wonder as many other members of the crowd started to leave. She looked over to Bjorn, who seemed to be staying put.

So many people filed out of the area, but the Scouting Legion Commander didn't appear to be the least bit surprised. In the end, ten people were left standing in an otherwise empty space.

_Is Gero really staying? _Ilsa thought, glancing at the young man out of the corner of her eye. He was standing with three of his friends. She'd been almost certain they were aiming for the MPs.

Once everyone who left was gone, Gero looked up to see who was still there, and found himself a little surprised at how few people there seemed to be left out of the original group.

Sara Klein, Bjorn Metzger, Ilsa Hauer, Dieter Flaeter, Angela Leitner, Gero Lehrer, Silvia Wolf, Veit Sauber, Isaak Abeln, and Adele Bauer remained, some more certain of their choices than others.

"Congratulations on making it this far." A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Erwin's mouth. "And welcome to the Scouts."

As soon as everyone was allowed to leave, Augustine snatched her flask out of her partner's hand and made her way off the stage.

"Our paths are set now." Dieter made his way back with Ilsa at his side. He looked like he couldn't be happier with that statement, so Ilsa felt that she really couldn't complain.

"They are… I'll see you tomorrow, Dieter," Ilsa said, suddenly realizing just how tired she really was. She headed for the bunks, followed closely by Angela.

Sara reached over gently and touched Bjorn's arm gently.

"No going back now." Bjorn and his friend ended up as the last ones left after the others had all gone back to the bunks. He looked around for a moment. "It's our last night here… Let's take a walk."

* * *

><p>"This is absolutely ridiculous," Sara muttered under her breath as she removed her shirt. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."<p>

"Again," Bjorn reminded her, a smirk on his face as he stood in the chest-deep water. He had his back turned to her, even though it wasn't exactly a sight he'd never seen. "This is what, the third time this year? At least it isn't cold, right?"

_It's the middle of Summer._

Sara bit back her reply, thinking that she should probably be asleep, since they had another big day ahead of them. She paused with her thumbs between the hem of her pants and her hips.

"Enjoy yourself a little. It can't be training, training, training, all the time. "

Sara sighed, kicking off her pants. It was actually the fourth time that year that she and Bjorn had snuck off in the middle of the night. They'd discovered the lake after only a week of training, and he'd only taken another five days to coax her into a late night dip.

At first, she'd been terrified that someone would catch them out of bed, and that they'd end up getting in trouble. At the time, trouble had been one of the things she was, you know, avoiding. But after a couple outings that went off without a hitch, she didn't need to be asked twice anymore.

"Isn't this talk getting a bit backwards?" Sara started wading out into the water. "_I'm_ usually the one telling _you_ not to overwork yourself, aren't I?" She swam over in front of him so they were practically face to face.

"Yeah, that _is_ how it usually goes, isn't it?"

The two looked at the water around them, seeing the light of the stars reflected in the perfectly still surface. They'd done this sort of thing at least a hundred times before they started training. Among their other adventures, trips, and experiences.

There was a river system running through the interior of Wall Rose that they'd traveled along for a week during a camping trip. A lake in Stohess that was so clear you could see the bottom, and shallow enough that you could walk all the way across.

Sara's favorite was the pond they found that was practically overflowing with fish and toads. They got ridiculously muddy running around after the things and weren't allowed to go back to their tents until they'd washed off.

The whole thing ended with the two of them standing out in the same pond as before, pushing each other around. Needless to say, neither of them got any less muddy until Rene called them back to camp for dinner.

"Race me?" Sara ducked down in the water a bit, everything below her nose submerged. Her hair, which she'd never let grow past her shoulders throughout training, fanned out on the surface. She already knew what his answer would be, and readied herself.

Bjorn cracked a smile. It was almost like they were just camping again, like when they were kids, and he was happy with that. She'd always seemed happiest when she was running after a frog, or trying in vain to catch a tiny silver fish with her bare hands. It had been a good nine years of friendship, and he was always up for more.

"I'll be waiting for you at the finish line."

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, guys! Sorry it's a couple hours late today. I thought I might suggest you up the font size by one from default for this story, because otherwise the lines run too long. That makes something that looks like a paragraph to me look like two lines to you! Just a suggestion._

_I really hope you guys are enjoying this so far, because I really want this to be entertaining for you all._

_I also wanted to thank those of you who've stuck with this up until now, and those of you who plan to continue reading. I know that not a lot has happened so far, and that it may seem a little slow-paced, but please trust me when I say it picks up speed pretty quickly some time after chapter ten._

_Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Adele sat awake in her bunk early the next morning, up before anyone else. She'd suffered from a rather nasty bought of nightmares and found herself unable to get back to sleep after the second or third.

Ilsa was the next girl to open her eyes. She sat up and ran a hand back through her hair.

"Today marks the start of a new chapter in our lives."

In the few moments of silence that followed Ilsa's statement, Adele nodded. It was true. Now was the time when they'd leave behind a good portion of the people they'd come to know, along with the place they'd called home for the past three years.

"Let's do this." Ilsa climbed down the ladder and grabbed her bag from where she had it tied to the railing of her bunk. From within its depths she fished out a hairbrush and started going about her morning ritual.

"Ugh…" Angela groaned, dragging one uncooperative arm from under the covers to shield her eyes from a sliver of intrusive daylight that was acting as a small spotlight on her face. "Somebody, please… Turn off the sun…"

"We have to get up sooner or later," Sara mumbled, just starting to wake up herself. She was drowsier than she'd have liked to be after staying out rather late with Bjorn, but she'd manage. "Our new Squad Leader could be here any time."

While Sara was speaking, Adele gathered her personal belongings and made her way outside ahead of everyone else.

Emerging from the bunks, she immediately spotted a woman standing next to a fairly large horse. This woman had a reproachful scowl on her face as she conversed with the man standing at her side. Adele put two and two together to determine that one of them must have been their new Squad Leader.

It wasn't long before the others who'd chosen the Scouts made it outside.

Augustine saw the people approaching and managed to pull herself up onto her horse, wincing a bit as she did so. "Go ahead and take mount."

Gero patted his horse's side a bit as he put his foot in the stirrup and hopped on. This wasn't the horse he was used to, and he wondered for a moment if they'd get to pick their own horses or if these were mounts that had been chosen for them.

Adele looked extremely at home atop her own horse, petting its mane a bit as she looked around. She watched Ilsa and Dieter stepping up into the stirrups of their horses' saddles.

Once everyone was ready to go, Augustine gave two gentle clicks of her tongue and her horse started walking.

Dieter looked back over his shoulder as they left the Trainee Camp behind, wondering where they were off to now. He stayed silent and looked over to Ilsa, reminding himself that staying with her was all that really mattered.

* * *

><p>"A town?" Ilsa mused as the group continued down the forest road they'd been moving along for an hour, at least. It was a small town in the middle of nowhere, but people still gathered as the group came through. An unusually large amount for such a small town.<p>

_It feels so weird, _Dieter thought to himself as he looked from the people along the road to a pair of faces watching through an open window. _Being on the other side of this exchange for once. I used to watch the Scouts march through Shiganshina, high above me on the backs of their horses._

_I wonder if that's how we look to these people right now?_

Gero, on the other hand, was looking for someone specific amongst the people of the town. He wasn't having much luck in locating them, and eventually decided they must not have been there at all.

_Maybe it's better that way?_

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he spotted a familiar face and looked up. It felt like all the breath had been knocked from his lungs.

Gero's eyes found those of a young woman at the front of the crowd, her face all too familiar. Everything seemed to be going very slow as she sent him a weary smile and a small wave. The girl in her arms waved, too. She couldn't have been older than four.

The sight made him feel like there was a lump in his throat, but he managed to smile back at them. As he passed directly in front of the pair, the woman held an envelope out to him, causing him to bring his horse to a stop.

He took it after a moment of hesitation, unable to stay too long if he didn't want to hold up the entire group.

As soon as the letter was in Gero's hands, the woman turned to head back to her house. The girl waved at Gero over her mother's shoulder. He watched until they disappeared into the crowd, and then looked down at the letter he was holding.

Gero slipped it into his bag and resolved to leave it for later. He'd be able to read it once they'd arrived at their destination, information which their Squad Leader had declined to share with them.

"Those people have put their faith in the Scouting Legion," Augustine reminded everyone quietly, not looking anywhere but the road ahead as they left town. "We have to try our best, so we don't disappoint them."

* * *

><p>Augustine hopped down from her horse when they arrive at the large, almost castle-like building. "We're just staying here for a couple days during your team evaluations, due to the immediate availability of both the forest and the fortress, and then we'll be moving on."<p>

From within the building, a young man appeared. He had neat dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, and was wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt under the jacket of his uniform.

"So these are the new recruits?" He looked friendly in comparison to Augustine, and a couple of the new Scouts had to hold back from sighing in relief.

"Yes." Augustine and her partner handed the reins of their horses over to him.

He looked at the group, smiling a little.

"They look like a good crowd. Plus, now I might actually get to boss some people around once in a while." There was laughter in his eyes, letting everyone in on the fact that he wasn't serious about the bossing around part of his statement.

"Here's hoping things work out," Augustine said, knocking back another sip of the liquid in her flask as she and the man she'd arrived with headed inside. "There'll be time for introductions at dinner, where everyone can be together. For now, follow me."

Everyone left their horses with the young man outside after he insisted they go in and get settled.

"Let's see if we can find you guys some rooms," Augustine said as she made her way over to one of two staircases leading up to the second level of the castle. "It's a bit dusty. Doesn't get used much anymore."

At the top of the stairs there was a room with a doorway on the left and another on the right. It was mostly empty aside from a couple piles of boxes. You couldn't tell what was inside them just by looking, but a few of them were rather large.

Augustine led the group down the left hall which had several doors on either side.

"I trust you can all sort out the room situation on your own?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and made her way back down the hall. "Dinner's at seven. Train outside if you want, but don't stray too far. There's not much left of the day, so your evaluations will have to wait until tomorrow."

As Augustine departed, Angela spoke up to the group.

"Is everybody alright with just sleeping wherever?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Gero gave the nearest door a small push, peeking in as it slowly swung open. "It's just for a few days."

Everyone started poking around and checking out the rooms. After Gero chose the room on the left closest to the stairs, Adele chose the one across the hall. From there it went Adele, Ilsa, Dieter, Sara, and Bjorn on the right and Gero, Silvia, Isaak, Veit, and Angela on the left.

Sara set her bag down on the bed once she entered her room and headed over to look out through the window. The sun was slowly dipping below the tree line and the moon was already faintly visible in the sky.

She spotted the young man from before, still outside, standing with Bjorn's horse. For a moment she wondered if he was still getting their horses situated in the stables. But then she noticed he wasn't moving Lexus into the stables. He was just standing there, feeding the horse what appeared to be a carrot.

The gesture brought a smile to her face.

Meanwhile, Gero was sitting on the bed in his new room, the woman's letter unopened in his hands. Part of him was actually scared of what the letter might say after how things went the last time he'd seen her.

He tore open the envelope anyhow, and removed the neatly folded letter from within. It appeared to be two pages front and back, and he thought briefly that she might have been angry with him again.

But once he saw the introductory sentence, his worries were swept aside and replaced by a small wave of guilt.

_I'm sorry, too._

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry this chapter's two days late. I feel really bad about it, but I had food poisoning Sunday through part of Wednesday. I tried to work through it on Thursday to post it on time, but I haven't been feeling too good in another way lately, either. Not really motivated._

_I'll try to keep to the update days from now on._

_Thanks for being patient, though._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Later that day, around dinner time, Augustine went upstairs and knocked on everyone's doors as she made her way down the hall. "Soup's on, kids." She paused. "Actually, it's chicken and potatoes. No complaints here."

After all the new recruits that had stayed in their rooms exited into the hall Augustine told them to round up any stragglers and meet in the dining area just off the entry hall. After that, Sara went off in search of Bjorn, finding him just sitting outside.

"It's time for dinner, you know," she said, lightly tugging at a strand of his hair as she walked up from behind. He gently batted her hand away from his blonde locks.

"Good, because I'm absolutely starving." He shut the pocket-sized notepad he'd been writing in and got to his feet.

"What were you writing?" Sara asked curiously. Bjorn looked from his friend to the notepad and back.

"This?" Bjorn laughed a bit, running his fingers back through his hair sheepishly. "Jeez… You remember how often we used to climb trees when we were younger. I picked up this… habit. When I've got free time, and there are a lot of trees around, I can't help but try and..."

"That one."

Sara pointed out a tall pine tree a few hundred meters from the stables.

"It's got a lot of footholds and handholds for easy ascent. Just looking at it for a few seconds should be enough to see a clear path right to the top. It has sturdy branches all the way up except the last, say, three meters? All in all, perfect for climbing."

Bjorn considered the tree she'd pointed out, leaning against the outside of the fort.

"You've got a point. It might have a bit of competition to the west, though. That one, with the two missing branches and the nest about halfway up." He grinned and looked over at Sara. "Too bad we're getting far too old to be climbing them."

"Hey!" Sara gave him a playful shove. "You're never too old to climb a tree. Sure, there's an age you get to where it's _recommended_ you don't because you might break something just trying to get up there, but that doesn't mean you're technically too old."

"I suppose you're right." Bjorn tapped the end of her nose lightly with his notepad.

The two headed inside and sat between Dieter and Angela. Sara made a mental note of the fact that Adele looked none too happy sitting between Ilsa and the boy from earlier. She assumed that the girl would've preferred to sit by herself, but the three tables were pushed together.

_Probably so we can all be together to meet our new Squad, and they can meet us._

Augustine took a sip from her cup of water as everyone got settled. She was seated at one end of the tables, her partner to her left and Silvia to her right. To the left of her partner, there were three people the new Scouts hadn't met so far. And to the left of them, the boy who'd greeted the new recruits outside.

There was a plate for each person with chicken and potatoes on it, along with a set of utensils and a glass of water.

"It's nice to finally be sat down with you guys," Augustine's partner commented. "Squad Leader Alexander Hoover, at your service. And you've already met Augustine here."

Augustine raised her cup in acknowledgment.

"We co-operate this Squad." Alexander continued speaking. "Both of us are recognized as its Squad Leaders, and we both carry the title."

He looked around at the rest of the graduates again with a bit of a smile. It was always exciting when they got a new group, and this was one of his favorite parts about it: introductions.

"So, time for some introductions. I want to see if I can get these all right. Let's go around the table, starting with… Adele, right?"

Adele ducked her head a bit at the sound of her name being spoken, then peeked out through the part in her hair at Alexander.

"Adele Bauer, sir."

"It's been a while," Alexander said. "Good to see you're doing well. We can catch up later. Next to Adele we have… Ilsa, I presume?"

Ilsa lowered her cup from her mouth.

"Ilsa Hauer."

"And next to Ilsa we have Dieter Flaeter. A pair of cousins from Shiganshina."

Dieter looked at Alexander, a bit surprised the man knew him and Ilsa.

"I like to make a point of knowing who's joining the group before meeting them," the man explained. "Next to Dieter we have Sara Klein and Bjorn Metzger. The niece of Tomas Klein of the Garrison and the brother of Beat Metzger of the Military Police.

"After Bjorn we have Angela Leitner from Trost. Followed by Gero Lehrer, Veit Sauber, Isaak Abeln, and Silvia Wolf, a quartet of troublemakers if Sharona's accounts were right." He laughed a bit. "Like a tiny wolf pack, you four are. A strong, close-knit group."

The four exchanged some looks, not expecting the complements.

"Thanks, sir," Gero said a bit hesitantly. He wasn't sure what to make of the whole 'troublemakers' brand that had apparently been put on them. Probably because of Veit's pranks or Silvia's slacking during sparring matches.

Or his fight with Adele right at the start of training.

"It's great to meet all of you, and hope you'll feel the same. You know me and Augustine now, and you met Bruno outside," Alexander said, addressing the new Scouts. He then pointed to one of the last four unintroduced people sitting at the table, a man with black hair and blue eyes to his left. "Going clockwise, and we'll start with Lambert."

"Lambert Schroeter," the bespectacled man said. "I'm the group's strategist. I co-op with the strategists of squads we work with to find formations and attack-plans that work, minimalize risk, and stuff like that. After your team evaluations tomorrow, I'll take the information given to me on your personal strengths and weaknesses and come up with a good place for each of you to be placed in the formation when we head out."

"Gloria Lenz." The woman to the left of Lambert spoke up with a rather cheery voice. She had light blue eyes and dark brown, wavy hair that was pinned back out of her face. She looked like a teacher, all sweetness and smiles. "I keep these two in line," she said, pulling on the sleeves of Lambert and the man to her left, "and I kick ass in hand-to-hand fights."

"Helmut Raskoph," the last man said, gently tugging his sleeve free of Gloria's fingers. He had slightly longer brown hair and light blue eyes. He was rather quiet, which surprised a few of the new Scouts since he didn't come off as a very soft-spoken individual. "I'm in charge of securing blades, gas, and other supplies."

"Go ahead and eat. Sorry for making you guys wait." Alexander scooped up a bit of food with his fork and said, "We're only staying here six days, and then we'll be heading outside Wall Rose."

"It's the type of thing you guys have been training for since you signed up," Augustine said. "We're going out to take down some Titans."

"This soon?" Dieter exchanged a glance with Ilsa.

"You've been preparing for three years now, haven't you?" Alexander asked, pausing with a bit of food on his fork. "We tried to schedule it at least a week after you'd be arriving to keep from just throwing you all into the fray. Tomorrow, Augustine and I will take you out to the surrounding forest to test you out."

"And you lucky kids will be getting to see Lance Corporal Levi in action," Gloria said, shuffling some potatoes around on her plate with her fork.

"Will Squad Leader Hani Zoe be there?" Adele looked up from her untouched plate at the mention of Lance Corporal Levi's squad. She knew the pair worked together quite often, so there was a chance…

"Yeah, she will." Alexander lowered his fork from his mouth as he looked over. "It's going to be us, Levi's squad, Hanji's squad, and it sounds like Vale's group will be tagging along for the ride, as well."

"I see… Thank you." Adele stood up a few minutes later, her cup in one hand, her plate in the other. It still had a good portion of her food left on it. "I'm not all that hungry. May I—"

"Sit back down and finish what I put on your plate," Augustine said plainly, holding her cup to her lips. "You won't last long if you don't get enough nutrition from your food, and from what I can tell, you could use every bit of it."

Slightly taken aback, Adele lowered herself back into the chair to finish her meal.

The rest of the meal went by fast. Gloria asked the group a few questions, trying to get a better feel for their personalities. She seemed genuinely friendly and open toward everyone, and didn't leave anyone out.

"Go ahead and get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow." Alexander started going around, taking plates to be washed once everyone was done with their food.

_He seems like a really nice guy, _Sara thought to herself as she and the others got up and headed for their rooms. _Augustine's probably nice, too, but… a bit harsher._

When Adele got to her room, she just stood there for a minute, exhausted and feeling a little bit sick. She looked out her window again at the surrounding forest, not entirely knowing what the next day would bring. This was it. Just a few more days before they'd be…

_Out there…_

It wasn't the most comforting thought for her, but it was going to happen sooner or later. Besides. It just meant they'd be the ones doing some killing for a change.

_Chew on _that,_ you big bastards._

* * *

><p><em>Now the main cast for a while have been introduced. There will be more characters along the way, but now the main sixteen have names! We tried to give each character a good, solid background, interests, hopes and dreams. Thanks for sticking around and I hope you continue to do so long enough to see each one through their various trials and tribulations.<em>

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><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**The Next Day**

Augustine made her way back inside just in time to see Angela, Dieter, and Ilsa coming down the stairs. Dieter was rubbing his eyes sleepily, his hair ruffled in a rather severe case of bedhead. The three were followed closely by everyone else.

Aside from Adele, that is, who had been the first one at the table that morning.

As soon as the newer members of the Squad were seated, Bruno came in from the kitchen with a couple set plates. He set one at Augustine's spot, and the other at Alexander's, before scurrying back into the kitchen for more.

"Thank you," Sara and Ilsa called simultaneously after they receive their own plates.

Augustine sat down in the same spot she'd occupied at dinner, setting her flask on the table. Alexander gave her a somewhat disapproving frown as he entered from the kitchen.

"Are you really drinking this early in the morning?"

Augustine simply sent him a pointed look that shut him up in an instant.

Personally, Gero was finding their little squabble quite entertaining, thinking the two looked like an old married couple. For all he knew, they _were _an old married couple.

"So what are we doing today?" Dieter asked, holding out his cup as Alexander went around with a pitcher of water.

"Augustine and I will be evaluating your strong points to see where each of you best fits in the squad's formation. Gotta Gear up."

"So once you find our strong points and all that, will we be practicing formations after lunch?" Angela sipped at her water idly.

"Now you're getting it. Yeah, we'll practice the strategy Lambert picks out for us until dinner, and then we'll eat, grab some shut eye, and do the same tomorrow. Need to get it down pat for when we actually head out."

Augustine finished her breakfast before everyone and headed upstairs, coming back down decked out in her harness and Gear. Alexander hid a grin behind his cup as he took a drink.

"So what, do we just go get our stuff and..?" Angela paused, hovering a spoon full of oatmeal above her bowl.

"Just put your Gear on and follow me and Augustine to our destination."

"Alright," Angela replied. After everyone was done, she accompanied everyone back upstairs to get ready. When they came back down, they found that Augustine had gone off ahead of them and followed Alexander, instead.

The group of eleven headed off into the forest, at first starting off down the dirt road they'd come in on, then branching off on an almost non-existent path that wound through the trees like a snake. This led them to the clearing where Augustine was awaiting their arrival.

"Alright," Alexander muttered as he started to divide the group in half. "Augustine will be in charge of Ilsa, Dieter, Adele, Gero, and Isaak. I'll be taking Sara, Bjorn, Angela, Veit, and Silvia. We're going to run trials for agility, attack strength, attack speed, and hand to hand combat."

"All of that?" Angela asked, a bit intimidated by the day's itinerary.

"Yeah. Then we'll be able to group people together based on mutual strong points and know who to call for in a specific situation. Like…" Alexander trailed off into silence, trying to think of a good example.

"Say we come across an unusually fast Titan," Augustine said, taking over the explanation, "and we need the faster members of the Squad to catch up with it. We'd know which of you to send out. Or if something happened to go wrong with the plan, it would be beneficial to have the analytical people like Lambert together to form a new plan of attack."

"_If _we were all going to be sticking together, like we will be for the most-part in the upcoming excursion. However, if we're being split up into smaller groups during a large-scale event, then the teams should be divided evenly so that each group has a more uniform layout, don't you think?" Alexander shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"We'll see you at lunch," Augustine called back to her partner, already disappearing into the surrounding forest with her half of the group in tow.

Once Alexander and his charges were nowhere in sight, she stopped and turned to face hers. They were stopped at a group of trees that formed an almost perfectly straight line. It looked as though they were planted that way to allow people to weave through them with ease.

"Agility's up first. Essentially, what I'm looking for here is how easily you can change direction if necessary. Any volunteers to go first?"

Nobody stepped forward.

"Fine. Since everyone's _so eager, _I can't pick. I'll just have to go by first name, alphabetically. Adele, you're up."

_Good luck, Adele, _Ilsa thought to herself as she watched young woman step forward to pick a target.

Adele ejected her cables, hooking into the nearest tree, and took off. She changed direction easily enough, but there was a sense of hesitation about her movements and actions that made Augustine frown. The girl wove her way through the first five trees before she headed back and touched down, retracting her cables once more.

"Dieter, you're next." Augustine motioned for the boy to step forward.

"Uh… Right." Dieter was slightly nervous with everyone watching him, but he took off just like Adele had. He did well, changing direction with fluidity and ease.

"Gero," Augustine called as Dieter returned.

"Good luck," Dieter said as he and Gero passed one another. Gero was slightly taken aback by the friendly gesture, having thought both of the cousins still hated his guts.

"Thanks…" He stepped forward and began, flying off into the trees. Not only did he change directions at a moment's notice, but he demonstrated a fair amount of his style of operating his Gear.

_He's good, _Ilsa thought.

"Ilsa."

She nodded as she stepped forward. She ejected her cables and started the exercise before Gero actually touched the ground, making sharp turns to show her mastery of this aspect of her Gear.

As soon as Ilsa touched back down, Augustine sent Isaak out. The boy seemed to have a bit of trouble turning quickly, and Augustine made a mental note of this.

"Right."

* * *

><p>Alexander turned to the group as Veit made his way back down from the trees.<p>

"Next is… attack strength and speed. The targets we'll be using should still be set up around here." He managed, after a few minutes, to find the Titan cutouts a little further into the forest. "Ah, here we go!"

The tall figures looked exactly like those they'd used for evaluations during training. They were made out of wood with wooden support beams and fluffy padding at the napes of their necks.

"Same order. Try and get through as many Titans as possible in sixty seconds, and try and leave a deep enough cut. We can't change the padding between each of you, so just leave a cut instead of taking a chunk out of the stuff. Angela, you're up."

Angela stepped up and took a deep breath, letting it out in a somewhat exasperated puff before starting the exercise. She managed to get four 'Titans' in sixty seconds, leaving satisfactory cuts on all but the fourth.

_She had a bad angle coming in for that one, _Alexander observed silently. _If she'd been positioned a little differently…_

"Bjorn."

Bjorn managed to get five kills in the time limit, leaving adequate cuts on all of them. Sara only managed to get three, but she let cuts almost all the way down to the cutout itself.

_That's pretty kick ass, _Bjorn thought with a smirk, watching his friend as she returned. Sara saw the look he was giving her and smiled back.

_Better watch out before I catch up._

* * *

><p>"Alright." Augustine detached her gear and set it gently aside. "Last up is hand to hand. I've been told that this is my personal strong suit, so I'm very interested in seeing what you five have to offer."<p>

"There are only five of us," Dieter mused. "So what does the one without a partner do?"

"One of you lucky kids will be paired up with me," she replied, positioning her hands on her hips leisurely. "Any volunteers for the honor?"

Unsurprisingly, no one stepped forward.

"Adele, looks like you're getting picked on again." Augustine stepped forward, stretching her arms above her head. "Them's the breaks."

Adele sighed quietly in response and detached her own Gear from her harness. She could definitely hold her own in a fight against any number of the Trainees of her graduating class, but she had no idea how she'd do against Augustine.

The two moved so that they were only a few meters apart, facing one another. They got ready, hands raised in front of themselves. In the blink of an eye, Augustine moved.

She lunged forward, swinging with her left fist. Adele, in response, raised her right arm to block. When the hit connected, damn!

_Ow! _Adele thought as Augustine retracted her fist, trying not to panic. If _this _was how hard the woman hit every time, she was bound to be covered in bruises by the time the match was over. _What the hell is she made of?_

Adele blew a strand of hair out of her eyes watching for the next incoming blow.

_That's probably along the lines of what she's thinking right now. _The two faced off, one looking for an opening, the other looking determined.

_Let's both find out what the other's got, then._

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


	9. Chapter 9

_Edit 3/18/15: Okay, you guys. There won't be a chapter this week, sorry to say, but there should be two next week on the twenty-sixth. I had a busy week, what with my birthday on Sunday, and I haven't been feeling all that well. I'm very sorry_

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

"Oh, man…"

After lunch, everyone headed back outside to practice formations. Adele was sore all over from the match she had with Augustine, having lost quite badly.

The group found Lambert standing out by the stables with Alexander and gathered around.

"Alright," Alexander said, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Lambert's been given our evaluations of your personal skills to work with. Using those, he's come up with a few different formations for us to go over and drill until dinner."

Lambert stepped forward a bit as Alexander took a step back.

"Alright. I should probably mention, first of all, that there are two objectives to this mission. However, you'll only be handling one of them. I'm sure you've all been notified that we'll be collaborating with three other Squads, correct?

"Your main objective is to kill any Titans that stray into a certain area out there and keep them from getting anywhere near Squad Leader Hanji Zoe's team. They will be attempting to take one of the Titans alive, for research purposes."

"Take… a live Titan?" Ilsa whispered, horrified by the concept.

"Why would anyone want to keep one of those things alive..?" Sara's eyes were wide as she bunched the bottom of her shirt up in her hands nervously.

"Once a Titan's dead," Lambert began to explain, "its body quickly decomposes, so there's really no chance to gather any useful information. Squad Leader Hanji's trying to reveal more of their secrets through extensive studies of live specimen. The information her team is able to gather from even one living Titan could help save thousands of lives."

"That's true," Ilsa muttered, unable to deny the logic in the man's words.

"To be honest, I think the woman's crazy for how close she lets herself get to the things. But if it helps save lives, I can't exactly say it's not an admirable goal."

* * *

><p><strong>Six Days Later<strong>

Ilsa was left slightly out of breath as she headed for dinner on their final night before going out. She, Dieter, and Sara almost collapsed into their chairs when they reached the tables. After their second night there, the tables had been separated once more and spread evenly around the room.

Gero, Silvia, Isaak, and Veit moved to sit in front of the fire, having been rained on while drilling strategies that afternoon.

Augustine had been sitting there since it started raining. She set her flask down on the table.

"Tomorrow, then," Dieter mumbled to himself as Bruno started bringing plates out from the kitchen.

"Well, we'll actually get to see some real action instead of just chopping up a bunch of wood and padding." Isaak grinned. He and his friends were ready and waiting.

"With real action, comes real danger," Ilsa warned, running a hand back through her damp hair. "Fake Titans don't fight back. You could have the upper hand one minute and be dead the next, when it comes to the real things."

"We've got three years of training and hard work to back us up tomorrow. And isn't this what some of us joined the Scouts for?" Isaak looked to Veit with a mischievous grin. "Action."

"Adventure."

"Killing as many of those monsters as we can." Silvia and the boys laughed a bit and started wondering aloud what the largest Titan they saw the next day would be. Five meters? No, surely bigger than that. Ten? Maybe more!

"Settle down and remember to think straight when you're out there tomorrow," Augustine muttered, impaling a chunk of potato on the end of her fork. "No one needs you to try any show-offy bullcrap. You'll end up getting yourselves killed right off the bat."

Isaak remained silent for a moment or two before he looked over to Augustine to ask, "What was _your _first outing like..?"

Augustine didn't look up from her food as she took a bite.

"My first mission went well. Much better than the first time I fought against a Titan."

"You mean…" Dieter paused. "You encountered a Titan before you joined the Scouting Legion?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," Silvia whispered, looking at Augustine in wonder. "I've never known anyone who fought a Titan as a civilian. So you technically had some firsthand experience on your first time out, then?"

"Fighting for your life is different than going up against a Titan with the intent to put an end to its miserable existence. One is pure instincts, adrenaline, and existential terror. The other, you have three years' worth of cutting up wood and cotton stuffing on your resume. Terror's still there, whether you want to admit it or not. And either time is a life-threatening experience."

Augustine caught sight of Adele eyeing up her right arm out of her peripheral vision and looked over. Adele's eyes darted to the other side of the room, making Augustine grin a little.

"It's alright to be curious. I'm sure you got a good idea from our sparring match last week." She removed the glove from her right hand and pulled up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal metal in the place of flesh. Silvery cables in the place of muscles and wires in place of nerves: a synthetic arm.

"Whoa… I've heard of this kind of stuff, but…" Dieter appeared to be in awe. "I didn't think there were many people left who'd had the procedure done."

"I was lucky enough to have a friend who was a genius in this field at the time. She was thinking about making a permanent career out of it when they shut everything down." Augustine clenched her metal hand into a fist, watching the different parts all collaborating to make it happen. "My arm is, at least, the last of its make and model."

"What do you mean?"

Augustine looked from her fist over to Dieter as she said, "I was the first and last actual recipient of her work. It's the last thing she made before…"

The woman trailed off before she could finish, but from the tone of her voice, it was safe to assume that whatever happened to that friend of hers, it was nothing good.

"Oh." Ilsa ducked her head a bit.

"She left the schematics for it so I could keep it in good shape," Augustine said, continuing to eat her meal as she spoke. "It needs maintenance every now and again, especially after a good fight. But that's what I've got Josef for."

Isaak looked up at the sound of his uncle's name, but said nothing, not wanting to derail Augustine's story.

"I never should have been out there in the first place."

"How come?" Dieter asked curiously. Augustine looked at him, then down at her plate.

"One of my older friends in town who was already a member of the Scouting Legion would often take the time to visit after returning from outside. I always asked him what it was like out there. I was so sure that it must have been better than living in here, powerless to escape for the most part.

"He'd tell me all these stories about things he'd seen out there. I must've sounded like some curious little kid asking about the outside world, making it sound like it was so far away. It was just on the other side of the walls, and I was a twenty-two year old woman.

"One time, he described these plants to me. Said they'd caught his eye when he and the others stopped to let their horses drink from a pond on the way back in. Believe it or not, I was an upstart with the medical center in the Capital back then. I was sure that he was describing Yarrow, which we were in sore need of at the time.

"I… kind of guilted him into taking me out one day with his group. Flirted with him until he agreed to take the matter up with his superiors. I knew it was extremely dangerous, but… it was less than two miles from the wall and we'd be heading north, where Titan attacks were less frequent.

"I overestimated the level of safety we'd have. I was an experienced rider, and… We were only supposed to be out for half an hour at most. Go there. Gather some specimens and come back. I was the one who put us at risk. Put us in that position. It got one of my best friends killed; all because I wanted a taste of what was out there."

"No one can predict a Titan attack," Dieter said quietly after a few moments of silence. "I mean, just think of what happened in Shiganshina. It was a perfectly normal day before…"

"I still remember getting the details and being called in with the others." Augustine glanced at Alexander, who'd stopped eating. "It was terrible what happened."

"Well, maybe Zoe'll learn something about the Titan she nets tomorrow that can prevent something like that from happening ever again," Alexander said quietly, raising his cup to his lips. Everyone could tell he wasn't being serious, but his statement caused the room to fall silent, its inhabitants once again reminded of their impending mission.

While Adele was a bit anxious about the next day, she thought that things had a good chance of going well. They'd be working with experienced veterans of the Scouting Legion. Plus, Alexander really seemed to think they were ready.

She was a little worried about what she would say to Squad Leader Hanji, though. It felt as though a simple, 'Thank you,' wouldn't really be sufficient payment for what the woman had done for her.

_Will she even remember me?_

It really was a possibility that Hanji wouldn't even recognize her. Or what if she didn't think it was as big a deal as Adele did. No, no, it was a huge deal! A life is a grand thing.

_And something not easily repaid._

The young woman stood up silently, put her plate in the kitchen, and headed upstairs to her room.

It wasn't long before Sara and Bjorn found themselves the last ones in the room. Sara opened her mouth to speak, but her friend spoke up before she could.

"Don't say that you're starting to regret choosing this…" Bjorn looked into the dying fire. "We're going to come back tomorrow with our first victory under our belts."

With that, he got up and went to bed, leaving Sara alone with her thoughts.

_I belong here… I do…_

* * *

><p><em>Official page on Tumblr at Haus-der-Wolfe. Answering questions, publishing full character bios, and every now and again, creating art based on asks from you, the readers. Feel free to drop in any time you like. You're always welcome and I hope you all have a wonderful day.<em>


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